Improvement in condensers for oil-stills



'1. ADAIR Oil v Condenser.

Patented June 10. 186 2.

Inventon AM. PHOTO-LITHQCENN. (OSBORNES PROCESS.)

my imp'roved. condensing apparatus.

FFICE.

. JAMES ADAIR, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

MP'RovEMENT IN CONDENSERS FOR GIL-STILLS.

SPGQifiOILlllOll forming part of Letters Patent l\ 0. 35,497, dated June10,1862.

T0 at whom it may concern.

Be it known that'I, J AMESADAIR, of Pittsburg, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haveflinvented a new and usefulImprovement in Oil-Condensers; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being hadtotheaccompanying drawings, fOIll'lilJg part of this specification, inwhich I Figure 1 is a perspective representation of is a representationof my condensingiapparatus, the top of the worm-chest being removed toexhibit the construction of its interior. Fig.

3 is a representation of the worm-chest removed from the water-tub, andseen from its under side. i i 1n theseveral figures like letters ofreference denotesimilar parts of the apparatus.

My invention is designed to simplify the construction and render moreefficient the operation of condensers for the distillation of carbonoils inthe process of refining, which contains the following principalfeatures, viz:

First, dispensing with the use of the ordinary worm of coiled pipe,which admits of the condensed oilbeing drawn off only at one end, andwhich cannot be readily cleaned; second, causing the oleaginous vapor tocome in contact with the cold Water as it passes through the condenser,by makingthe surface of the water one side of the winding passagethrough which the vapor is caused to pass; third,

' providing for the escape of any permanent gas or uneondensablevaporthrough a different aperture from that at which the condensed oil passesoff; fourth, causing the perma nent gas or uncondensed vapor to passthrough a showerof cold water as it is escaping from the condenser,whereby much of the lighter vapor which would otherwise escape is condensed and returned tothe condenser, to pass off in a differentdirection; and, fifth, pro-' viding for the escape from the samecondenser at different points of the various grades of oil, benzine,&c., thus dispensing with the use of aseries of condensers.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my improvedcondenser, I will vat in-which the condenser .or Worm-chest b Fig. 2.

is placed. This tuba has an overflow-pipe, c, at one end, placed at theheight designed to be the surface-level of the water in the condenser.

It has also a series of oil-spouts, d dd, at one side, through which thecondensed oil, benzine, &c., escape from the condenser, the level ofwhich is but a little higherthan that of the overflow-pipe c. Theworm-chest b is a rectangular box, of metal, wood," or other suitablematerial, rather shorter and narrower than the tub a in which it isplaced. It is open at the bottom or underside, and rests in the tub onblocks 0 e, 820., (see Fig. 3,) which are placedin the bottom of thetub, so as to allow the water to pass freely from it into the tub. Thetop or upper side of the worm-chest is covered by a metallic plate, f,which is at tached to the chest below the top of its sides, and ishigher at one end than the other, so as to form on the top of theworm-chest a vessel into which the cold water is poured at its higherend from a pipe, 9, as seen in Fig. 1, the sloping of the covering-platef causing the Water to run down to its lower end. The interior of theworm-chest is divided by partitions it h, &c.,'whicl1 extend atgradually-diminishing distances apart, alternately, from opposite sidesof the worm-chest.

from one side to the other of the worm-chest,

. but leave a space for the vapor to pass around their ends from onespace between the parti tions to another, thus compelling the vapor thatpasses through the condenser to traverse backward and forward or fromside to, side repeatedly in its course. Some, however, of thesepartitions (marked h in Fig. 1) are continued all the way across fromone side to the other of the worm-chest, but have a piece cut away fromthe upper corner, so as to allow the vapor to pass, but leaving the edgeof the partition higher than the surface-level of the water in theworm-chest all the way across, so as not to permit the oil condensed onthe surface of the water to pass beyond such partition; Each of thesecontinuous partitions h h" (of which there may be as many as desired,depending on the size of the condenser) marks a division or section ofthe worm-chest, andeacli section is furnished with an outlet for the oilcondensed and floating on the surface of the waterwithin it. Each outletin the side of theworm-ehest is furnished with a valve or Most of thesepartitions 71, h do not extend quite across gate, 2', for closing theopening when desired, and is surrounded by a small wooden frame, k,which occupies the space between the side of the worm-chest and theinside of the tub, around the outlets in the worm chest and around theoil-spouts (Z (Z d in the side of the tub. These frames around theoutlets prevent the oil or condensed vapor from escaping into the tubaround the worm-chest and cause it to flow out of the oil-spouts (Z d d,and avoid the use of a continuous pipe from the worm-chest, which wouldinterfere with the removal of the worm-chest when desired. A piece ofheavy cotton wick may be passed through the oil-spouts (Z d d andinsertedinto the worm-chest through the openings in its side to conductthe oil as itcondenses through the spouts. The partitions in theworm-chest are closer together at its lower than at its upper end, inorder gradually to reduce the width of the passages which the oil vaportraverses on its way through the condenser, and the sloping top or coverf makes theheight of the spaces between the partitions above thewater-level to be less at the lower than at the upper end for the samepurpose. The main vapor-pipe 9' from the still enters and is attached tothe cover f of the worm-chest at its upper or higher end, and at thelower end a short perforated pipe, Z, or gas-trap rises from the coverf. This perforated pipeZ is surrounded by a long pipe, on, of largerdiameter than the perforated pipe Z, and which does not 'quite touch theplate or cover f, so as to allow the water on top of the worm-chest topass into the gas-trap through the perforations of the pipe Z.

The apparatus thus described is susceptible of application to thecondensation of vapor in distilling any other fluids which will not mixwith water besides carbon oil, for which, however, it is particularlydesigned.

The operation of my improved condensing apparatus is as follows: The vator tub a being filled with cold water to the level of the overflow-pipec, and the worm-chest placed in it, with its open bottom downward andresting on the strips 6 e, &c., a few inches above the bottom of thevat, a stream of cold water is allowed to flow on the metallic top ofthe worm chest b, through the pipe g. The vapor from the still isadmitted into the top of the worm-chest through the main j. Thepartitions h h, &c.,' in the worm-chest form a continuous zigzag passagefor the oil vapor, as seen in Fig. 2, the surface of the water in theworm forming the lower side of this passage, and the top or cover of theworm-chest forming the upper side of this passage. As the oil vaporenters the wormchest at the upper end it passes backward and forwardalong the zigzag partition until it reaches the first continuouspartition, h. This partition extends entirely across the wormchest,excepting at a point above the waterlevel, so that while the vapor yetnncondensed can pass through the aperture at n, Fig. 1, the condensedoil on the surface of the water cannot pass beyond that partition h, butmust, as it accumulates, flow out at the pipe (Z, the oil thus collectedbeing that which most readily condenses. The vapor yet nncondensedpasses 011 through the aperture nin the first continuous partition, h,through the passage in the worm-chest until it reaches the secondcontinuous partition, h, where it passes through the aperture a abovethe water-level, while the condensed fluid which has accumulated on thesurface of the water in the worm-chest between the partitions h and 71not being able to escape otherwise, flows out at the second oil-pipe,(Z. The remaining vapor and gas yet nncondensed proceeds through theremaind er of the passage in the worm-chest, and as it condenses flowsout of the third oil-pipe d, while the permanent gas and nncondensedvapor, if any, rise through the gas-trap Z, and in so doing meet thecold water entering the worm-chest in a shower through the perforationsin the short pipe Z, by means of which any vapor yet susceptible ofcondensation is returned to the worm-chest, while only the permanent gasescapes through the pipe m and is carried to any desired receptacle orallowed to pass off. Cold water is supplied to the condenser onlythrough the gas trap or pipe Z, and flows out at the overflowpipe c,which may be inserted into the tub and curved downward, so as to keepits inner orifice continually below the surface of the water, and thusprevent the condensed oil from passing off in this direction.

The advantages of my improved condenser are that it is not as liable toget out of order as an ordinary coiled pipe or worm, and is more easilyrepaired; that by the continual flow of cold water over the top of theworm chest and the passage of the oil vapor over the surface of thewater and in actual contact therewith a more rapid and completecondensation is effected; that the permanent gas or nncondensed oilwhich would otherwise escape being passed through a shower of cold waterthere is more liquid product obtained by condensation, and that thepermanent gas being caused to escape through a different aperture' fromthat at which the condensed liquid is drawn there is less danger of thegas carrying off with it any condensable vapor,and that with the use ofa single worm different grades of oil are extracted separately, varyingaccording to their case of condensation, and thus the heavier oils, thelighter oils, and the benzine are separated and removed from thecondenser without probability of becoming readmixed.

- lVhatI claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. The use of a worm-chest constructed substantially as described,immersed in a vat or vessel of water, for the purposes hereinbefore setforth.

2. Causing the oleaginous vapor to be condensed to pass'through a'zigzag passage, one side of which is a water-surface, in order to secure a more rapid condensation and to enable the condensed fluid tobedrawn off at' different points, in the manner described.

a 3. S0 constructing the Worm-chest of the condenser asto separate thedifferent qualities of oilby partitions which the condensed fluid cannotpass, but which present no obstacle to the flow of the uncondensed Vaporand gas through the worm, for the purpose hereinbefore set forth. a

4. Admitting the cold water in a shower into the Worm-chest at its rearend by a perfo- 3am p i 2 rated pipe, throughwhich the gas anduncondensed apor are compelled to pass in their exit from the condensersubstantially as and for the purpose hereinloef'ore described.

In testimony whereof I, the said JAMES ADAIR, have hereunto setmy hand.

JAMES ADAIR.

Witnesses M. G. CUsHING,

O. W. LEWIS.

